Apartment buildings can now be built feasibly on smaller lot assemblies than before.
You'll get a general understanding of the change made at the end of August 2024 to the BC Building Code to allow a single egress stair. The revision that allows a single exit stair is a radical change to a fundamental aspect of the building code. Knowledge of the change is slowly spreading, but understanding its impact and where it applies lags behind and will for some time.
Quite a few properties are in transit-oriented areas which allows taller buildings, but at least three 33' wide lots would historically be combined to create a 100' wide lot assembly. The feasibility of this size was driven in large part by the building code's requirement for two separate exit stairs, but eliminating the need for one stair could make two 33' wide lots -- easier to acquire than three or four -- feasible for an apartment building.
The BC provincial legislation passed in November 2023 requires cities to allow taller buildings to be built on properties that are between within 800 metres of a SkyTrain station or within 400 metres from a bus exchange [see link here]. Vancouver, Richmond, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Surrey, Mission, Maple Ridge, and Pitt Meadows all have transit-oriented areas based on SkyTrain or West Coast Express stations. North Vancouver, Chilliwack, Kamloops, Kelowna, Saanich, and Victoria also have transit-oriented areas based on frequent bus service.
Owners of affected small (33' or 50' wide) properties in these municipalities would generally wait until they were able to assemble several lots to create a building over 90' wide. This minimum viable size applies both to multifamily buildings that have two separate staircases at the ends or that have "scissor" stairs that share the same stairwell. When only one exit stair is required, a floor plan of 85%-90% efficiency could be gained at even 55-60' wide.
At the time of writing this article, the revised building code text has not yet been published. However, based on the province's commissioned report and the draft revision to the building code, here is a list of requirements that we will likely see for a multifamily building that has only one exit stair:
Automatic Sprinklers: Automatic fire sprinklers designed to the NFPA 13 standard would be required.
Fire Alarm: As a result of the installation of an automatic fire sprinkler system, a fire alarm must be installed and monitored 24/7 by an approved agency.
Maximum Building Height: Buildings could be as high as 6 storeys
Wider Exit Stair: Stairs would be 5' (1500 mm) instead of 3'-8" (1100 mm) wide.
Higher Fire Rating for Stairwell: The fire-resistance rating for the walls around the stairs would need to be 2h instead of the more typical 1h for these situations.
Pressurized Stairwell: A supply air fan would be required to create higher air pressure in the stairwell, or possibly exhaust fans in the suites would need to run continuously to keep the stairwell free of smoke from a fire in one or more of the units.
Direct Discharge from Stairs: The exit stair would be required to empty directly to the exterior instead of to a lobby as is usually the case with at least one exit stair in multifamily buildings.
Do these requirements mean that the single exit stair code revisions apply only to small buildings such as multiplexes? No. While the likely height limit will be six storeys, the building area could be as high as about 16,000 ft² (1500 m²) for that height (subject to any other special features of the sites in question).
There are other benefits to single egress stair buildings (AKA point access blocks) such as lower susceptibility to overheating and better climate resilience, higher efficiency of built area, better lighting to suites, more social interaction, lower operating costs, etc., and some of those savings can be used to improve the quality of the building by pursuing Passive House, Net Zero, or another high-performance target. However, I'll explore those aspects more in an upcoming article.
After more than a decade working on multifamily buildings of varying sizes and on assessing their exit designs, I'm very familiar with how they function. My strength is in applying the requirements of the building code to a range of building types. I incorporate a technical building code analysis on a building from the start of design. Using this understanding allows me to design a building without the need for substantial reconfiguration when the project moves from the design phase to the technical documentation stage.
This update to the building code may mean that you are able to develop a property and sell or rent, that previously you couldn't move forward with. The main factor could be the size or number of lots you have, the cost associated with constructing a larger building, or both. You may have found yourself with land too small to take advantage of - maybe you couldn't get your hands on one particular lot to round out a project - and the development opportunity was just out of reach.
If you own one or more properties and want to understand what options the BC Building Code's new single-stair exit allowance can offer you, the first step in my SAPPHR Strategy™ design process is the pre-design RED Report™
RED stands for Real Estate Development and shows you the options available to you; it's a quick and inexpensive report that allows you to compare options and determine which best suits your needs.
You can download a free sample of the report which includes renovations, new houses, and laneway homes; but I've just developed a brand-new version of the RED Report™ specifically for the SSMUH / multiplex / houseplex development. In this new report, you'll find out:
how many dwelling units you are permitted to build
how large the dwelling units are allowed to be
how much floor area you're allowed to build
what building configurations are permitted
the maximum number of storeys and maximum building height allowed
the maximum site coverage permitted for your development, and
how many parking stalls are required
Click the button below to book a free appointment with me to learn more about the SAPPHR Strategy™ or to request your own RED Report™.
DISCLAIMER:
The information included in this article is to an extent generic and intended for educational and informational purposes only; it does not constitute legal or professional advice. Thorough efforts are made to ensure the accuracy of the article, but having read this article, you understand and agree that Daniel Clarke Architect disclaims any legal liability for actions that may arise from reliance on the information provided in this article. I am an architect in BC, but readers are recommended to consult with their own architect on their specific situations before making any decisions or exercising judgement base on information in the article.
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